Vicki87f150

Last week I took my 87 f150 5.0L to the shop because the engine was miss-firing, periodically would not start, and would never idle consistently. The mechanic checked firing at the distributor and then proceeded to check the codes at the test connector. Unfortunately, his snap-on obd1 scanner could not read anything. He told me that the ECA was bad, so I ordered a replacement even though the old one showed no signs of failure. After installation I discovered that It also doesn’t produce any light flashes when I jump SIG RTN to STI and hook my test light from positive battery and STO.

I then proceeded to test that the ECA was getting power at Pin #1 and that Pin #20, #40 and #60 were grounded. All tested OK. I then checked continuity from the ECA to the C171 Self Test and C168 VIP Test connectors: Pin#17 to STO, Pin #22 to slot #6 on VIP Connector, Pin #46 to SIG RTN, and Pin 48 to STI. All tested fine.

Shouldn’t the ECA work if it’s getting power and is grounded. Can upstream failures at the sensors/solenoids/relays cause it not to throw codes?

Thanks in advance for any advice or guidance you can provide.

Vic

Vicki87f150

Fixed by installing new capacitors on old board. System checked out ok. Found a vacuum leak at EGR and replaced the unit. Also used the penny trick to block exhaust gas. Runs great.

rflick

did the new ECA fix the problem or did you not install it?

rflick

By the way what is the penny trick?